Surgical boot



July 1, 1947.

F. BQVAN HOESE N SURGICAL BOOT Filed June 3, 1946 ATTOR Y5 Patented July1 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,423,354 SURGICAL Boo'r Florence B.Van Hoesen, Syracuse, N. Y.

Application June 3, 1946, Serial No. 674,087

4 Claims.

The present invention relates to surgical boots of the type which areadapted to be worn over plaster casts.

In order to prevent plaster casts from becoming soft and weakening, itis imperative that they be kept dry. Accordingly, it is the primaryobject of this invention to provide a protective covering having thegeneral form of a boot which is preferably made of water-proof orwater-repellent material, and which is so constructed as to be readilyput on over the cast and taken off, at will.

Another object of the invention is to provide a protective covering ofthe aforementioned type which is neat in appearance and which serves tokeep the cast clean when worn over the same, thus largely eliminating rminimizing the embarrassment frequently created, particularly in Women,by the usual unsightly and soiled appearance of the cast.

A further object of the invention is to provide a surgical boot orprotective covering which may be readily applied over a cast which isequipped or fitted with a weight sustaining support commonly known as awalking iron, said boot or covering being characterized by the provisionof a detachable flap located at the heel of the foot-enclosing portionof the boot, permitting the boot to be put on over the walking iron whenthe flap is detached, and thereafter permitting the flap to bere-attached so as to fully protect the cast, particularly the bottomthereof near the heel where the walking iron is downwardly extendedbelow the cast.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will behereinafter described and the novel features thereof defined by theappended claims.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation, showing my surgical boot as wornover a cast equipped with a conventional walking iron, with the castrepresented in dotted lines;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure1, with the cast and walking iron shown in elevation;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view in side elevation of the lower portion ofthe boot, with the detachable flap detached as in putting the boot onover the cast and walking iron, or in removing the boot; and

Figure 4 is a View in front elevation, with the leg-covering portion ofthe boot partially opened at the front.

Like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the severalfigures of the drawing, wherein I generally denotes the leg-coveringportion of the boot, and 2 the foot-covering portion. Both portions ofthe boot are preferably made of water-proof or water-repellent fabric,

which may or may not be rubberized or otherwise treated to improve thewater-proofing or waterrepellent properties of the fabric.

Inthe manufacture of the boot, it maybe made up from a plurality ofpreformed or cut-out sections which are joined together by stitching, orin any other suitable manner as preferred. As shown in the drawing, byway of illustration, the leg-covering portion l is composed of twosections designated 3 which are stitched together along a seam at theback of the boot, as at 4. The sections 3 extend from the extreme upperend of the leg covering portion, down to a point somewhat below theankle. Stitched to the forward edges of the respective sections 3 alongthe seam 5 are two front sections 6 which likewise extend from theextreme upper end of the leg-covering portion, down to a point about atthe ankle or instep. Stitched to the lower extremity of each of thesections 6, along a seam l is a foot-covering section 8, the twosections 8 being stitched together along a seam 9 down the center of thefoot,- covering portion of the boot. Stitched to the lower edges of thesections 8, 8 and 3, 3, along a seam l0 which extends completely aroundthe foot portion of the boot is a sole section II, said sole formingthebottom of the foot-covering portion 2 of the boot.

point near the front of the heel and substantially directly below theankle, leaving a gap [2 therebetweenfor the purpose of accommodating awalking iron l3 which is embedded in the cast represented in dottedlines in the drawing and designated M. The walking iron, as illustratedin the drawing, is conventional, and has the form of a U-shaped metalmember which is disposed in a vertical position with its opposite armsextending upwardly into and embedded in the cast. The arms l3, l3 of thewalking iron 13 are joined together at their lower ends by ahorizontally disposed bar 13" which is spaced substantially below thebottom of the cast l4 and forms an open loop which serves to support theweight of the person on whom the cast is applied, to facilitate walkingwithout injury to the limb which is encased in the cast.

When the boot is put on over the cast, the walking iron l3 will projectdownwardly through the forward free end of the flap [5 may then betucked through the loop of the walking iron I3, below the cast, andinserted between the inner face of the front section II of the solesection II and the bottom of the cast, in which position the flap ispreferably detachably connected to the front sole section I l' by meansof suitable detachable fasteners such as snap fasteners Hi, there beingpreferably two such snap fasteners located respectively at oppositesides of the flap and sole section. By reason of the provision of theflap l5, the bottom of the cast may be fully protected when the boot isworn, while at the same time the flap may be detached at its forward endand withdrawn to the position shown in Figure 3 of the drawing, for thepurpose of permitting removal of the boot from the cast. When the flapis attached by the snap fasteners l6, it occupies the position shown inFigure 1 of the drawing.

The sole section II is preferably reinforced around the marginal edgesof the gap 12 to resist wear and chafing of the walking iron against therear edge of the front sole section H and the, front edge of the rearsole section II. This reinforcement preferably has the form of a doublethickness of the fabric which provides a band I! around the rear edge ofthe front sole section I I, and a band I8 around the front edge of therear sole section II".

In order to facilitate putting on the boot over the cast and removal ofthe boot, the boot is separable down the front from the extreme upperend of the leg-covering portion I, down to a point preferably slightlybelow the seam I at the instep of the foot covering portion 2'. Topermit the boot to be readily opened and closed at the front, theforward edges of the respective front section 6, 6 of the leg-coveringportion I are provided with suitable quickly detachable fasteners, suchas the slide fasteners generally designated [9. In addition, the upperend of the leg-covering portion 1 is preferably provided witha'reinforced band 20 which extends completely around the leg-coveringportion and one end of the band is extended to overlap upon the oppositeend for the purpose of attaching the hands together by means of suitabledetachable fastening means, suchas a. snap fastener 2|.

The boot may be made in different sizes and lengths accordin to the sizeand age of the person to which the boot is to be applied, and in eachcase, the boot is made large enough to fit over the cast more or lessloosely, but without undue looseness such as would detract from theneatness of appearance of the boot. When Worn, the boot serves to fullyprotect the cast against the danger of becoming wet by rain orotherwise, and at the same time, it serves to keep the cast clean. Sincethe cast will be largely concealed by the boot, the unsightly appearanceof the cast is eliminated, which is particularly encouraging to thewearer, from a psychological standpoint, and tends to promote greaterfreedom of movement of the wearer in public. These factors areparticularly appealing to women and others inclined to be more or lessfastidious in taste and appearance.

While the specific details of the invention have been herein shown anddescribed, the invention is not confined thereto as changes andalterations may be made without departing from the spirit thereof asdefined in the appended claims.

I claim: I Y

1. A surgical-boot of the class described, comprising awater-repellentfabric covering of sub stantially knee-length boot formand of a size capable of substantially completely covering a plastercast applied to the leg and foot of the wearer, said boot beingseparable at the front from the upper end of the leg-covering portion,down to a point substantially at the instep of the foot, and theseparable edges being provided with slide fastener means for closing andopening the front of the boot, the upper edge of the legcovering portionbeing provided with a reinforcing band extending completely around thesame and overlapping upon itself, with its free end detachably connectedthereto.

2. A surgical boot of the class described, comprising a water-repellentfabric covering of boot form and of a size capable of substantiallycompletely covering a plaster cast applied to the leg and foot of thewearer, the bottom of the footcovering portion of the boot beingprovided-with a flap below the heel which is fixed to the boot at itsrear end and is detachably connected at its front end, said flap whendetached forming a opening in the bottom of the boot through which awalking iron may be freely projected and withdrawn in applying the bootonto and removing the same from a cast having such walking iron.anchored thereto.

3. A surgical boot of the class described, comprising a water-repellentfabric covering of boot form and of a size capable of substantiallycompletely covering a plaster cast applied to the leg and foot of thewearer, the bottom of the foot portion of the boot being provided with aflap below the heel which is fixed to the boot at its rear end and isdetaohably connected at its front end, said when detached forming anopening in the bottom of the boot through which a walking iron ofsubstantially U-shape may be freely projected and withdrawn in applyingthe boot onto and removing the same from a cast having such walkin ironanchored thereto, said walking iron having its arms at the oppositesides thereof embedded in the cast, with its lower end disposed inspaced relation to the bottom of the cast and forming an open loop, andthe detachable end of the flap being adapted to be inserted through theloop aforesaid and connected to the sole of the boot forwardly of thewalking iron after application of the boot onto the cast, to cover thebottom of the cast in the zone of the walking iron.

1. A surgical boot for covering a cast equipped with a U-shaped walkingiron projecting downwardly therefrom near the heel, comprising aboot-shaped covering of water-repellent flexible material, said coveringhaving an opening extending transversely across the sole thereof toreceive the walking iron therethrough, and a flexible flap member fixedto the sole at the rear of said opening and detachably connected to thesole forwardly of said opening so as to extend through the walking ironand across the opening aforesaid when so connected.

FLORENCE B. VAN HOESEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

"UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,278,626 Vasko Apr. 7, 1942FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 177,245 Switzerland Aug. 1, 1935

